Holy Rosary student Aiden Leland makes a presentation to a class of Grade 7 students at Father Gorman School on Jan. 19. Jeannette Benoit-Leipert Meridian Source
When Aiden Leland, a Grade 9 student at HRHS, completed Grade 7 in Father Gorman School, he didn’t know he’d be back so soon—as a teacher.
He and Lloydminster Catholic School Division Indigenous programming coordinator Cynthia Young recently made presentations to Father Gorman Students about the meaning of the tipi in Indigenous culture.
“I’m Métis, so I get to learn stuff too. Mrs. Young is teaching me,” said Leland, adding the things he finds most interesting about the tipi is how mice are kept away by surrounding it with moss, and how they manage to raise the tipis, even though the buffalo hides are so heavy.
The goal is for Indigenous culture to be implemented, understood, and acknowledged throughout LCSD schools, with Young at the helm.
Currently, École St. Thomas has a dreamcatcher, St. Joseph’s School has a medicine wheel, and Father Gorman School will soon have a tipi display in the hallway as a permanent learning resource.
Tipi teachings will then expand to St. Mary’s and Mother Theresa Schools, as Holy Rosary already has many Indigenous symbols, including a tipi.
“We’re not so worried about Holy, but I want all of the elementary students to have a foundation because you need that understanding and that knowledge … and then that will spread, it’ll spread like wildfire,” said Young.
“We’re growing our roots—to make sure all these kids have a good foundation, a tree standing strong. That’s the concept I try and incorporate when I’m doing the Indigenous teachings.”
Young said there’s a lot more to a tipi than most people realize. Each part of the tipi has a meaning, and she aims to share her knowledge—which was passed on by area Elders and her parents.
“Each pole has a meaning. Each pole has a value, and all those things were our parenting tools. So when they were taken from us we lost our parenting skills for awhile, not just from the tipi—from many other things,” said Young.
“And traditionally—kayâs (a long time ago), women took care of the tipi. Now you’ll see men putting it up and stuff, that’s just how we’ve changed and evolved.”
Sharing her Indigenous culture is something Young is passionate about, and she has been in the classroom for 22 years now, at first as an EA working with Indigenous students before transitioning to her current position.
“Any chance that we have to teach about the culture, we’ll take, and the more people that know about our culture,” said Young.
“That’s that seed that’s going to grow that field of people that have an understanding and acknowledgement, and a good foundation of the culture. That’s what we want.”
